Another!
by Glowe Frogg
Summary: Two kids show up. Who are they and whose side are they on. Any critisisms and praises welcome. Please review. Need a beta. Only registered people. Review, Review!
1. The Begining

------ Means they are thinking!

The lyoko gang stood outside near the gate. They were talking about their latest achievement. "That was so awesome when you ramped off that rock and cut those hornets in half, Yumi!" Odd was whispering as loud as he dared. Brrriiinnnggg! The bell rang and they all proceeded to class. None of them noticed the black limo that had just pulled up. A girl with dark purple, almost black hair stepped out followed by three men in black suits. "I don't need your help to find my room, you can leave now." the girl told the men. "No. We are to accompany you to your room. No exceptions. We are to ensure you don't try anything." said one of them. "¡Maldito Sea! Estupido gobierno. (Damn! Stupid government.)" the girl muttered under her breath in Spanish. Her eyes shifted from guard to guard, calculating. She gave a long sigh and allowed herself to be carried along with them to the principal's office. Afterwards, the men led her to her room. She glanced around and deciding that it was and OK room, plopped down on the bed. One of the men turned and spoke to her. "You will remain locked in here until tomorrow. Your dinner will be brought to you around six." Then he deposited the last bag on the nearby chair and left. She waited patiently until she heard the key in the lock. She sat down and opened her laptop. Muttering to herself she opened a file and began typing.

The next day

In first period class, Principal Delmas walked in accompanied by a girl in a short red dress and high heeled boots. From a glance, most of them could tell she was Hispanic. "This is Verdana Santiago. She was recently transferred here from Puerto Rico." Principal Delmas said. Cautiously, she edged over to the only empty seat, right next to Odd. Once the class started, she began muttering under her breath in Spanish. From behind her, Sissy and her gang started to amuse themselves by trying to hit her with pieces of a broken beaker. One of the pieces hit her arm, but all she did was turn and glare at them. Odd glanced down at the cut and to his amazement, it glowed a little green and disappeared. He wondered where she had really come from.

At lunch

"Come over here Verdana! You can sit with us!" Odd called across the cafeteria. Verdana came and sat next to him. Odd had told the rest of them what had happened in class. "So..um.. how'd you end up here at Kadic?" Aelita asked, trying to break the silence that had set in. "Well, if you must know, it was here or somewhere in England. The government wanted me to pick some place to go so I picked here. It seemed a little more hospitable to my heritage. I wish that I could have stayed where I was, but nooo, they had to come in and say I couldn't." Verdana replied. Jeremy looked down at his phone seeing the X.A.N.A. symbol flashing. "If you'll excuse us Verdana, we have somewhere we need to go right now." Jeremy said.

At the factory

Ulrich wondered how Verdana was getting along, seeing as they had left in a rush. Yumi was thinking the same thing. "OK guys here we go!" (you know the whole virtualization process)

In Lyoko

"The tower is just ahead, but I don't see anything. Be careful, it might be a trap." Jeremy told them. They approached slowly unaware that back at the school, crabs started attacking. Aelita followed behind Odd and was trailed by Ulrich and Yumi. They reached the tower and Aelita stepped in. Outside, there was no sign of any creatures to indicate X.A.N.A. knew they were there. "Tower deactivated." Aelita said. They devirtualized and Jeremy told them to go check what happened at the school before they returned to the past.

At Kadic

They arrived to see the school in disarray. Odd told the others he would go check out the cafeteria. When he arrived the first thing he noticed was a gigantic hole in the roof and no one was there. On closer inspection of the floor, he located several pieces of crab (lyoko) strewn here and there. Out of a pile popped up Verdana and before he recognized her, he was flat on his back. "Oh, I'm so sorry Odd. I thought you were another crab." "Did you do all of this?" Odd asked. She looked sheepishly at him and nodded. "Well, why don't you just wait here and I'll go get Jim." Odd told her and left to the factory.

At the factory

"Jeremy, we really need to return to the past now. The whole school's in ruin!" Ulrich told Jeremy upon arrival at the factory. "Fine. Return to the past now." The whole school was enveloped in a bubble of white light.

At Kadic

I'm so glad that they didn't return so far to the past that I would have to introduce myself all over again thought Verdana. She had to finish her lunch before rushing off to her room to get something.


	2. All is revealedwell, not quite

At Kadic

"I don't know, she is really nice, but we don't know who she is. For one thing, I would like to know how come she carries knives in her boots. And why does she hate the government so much." Jeremy was telling Odd in response to his suggestion that Verdana join the team. "Well I think that we just need to talk to her. If we invite her to join, maybe she'll tell us more about herself." Odd said in defense of his idea. "You know Odd does have a point. All we have to do is ask her to join the team on the condition that she must tell us who she really is." Aelita said and Yumi nodded her support. "Then it's decided. I'll go ask her." Odd started off only to have Yumi catch his sleeve and keep him back. "I think that Aelita and I should ask her, girl to girl. She might think you are trying to ask her out." Odd's face turned a bright red.

Later

"…and we were wondering if you would like to see our secret hide out." Yumi asked Verdana after classes were done. "I might as well, I've got nothing better to do." she replied. Yumi and Aelita each to a hand and led her to the manhole. They slid down closely followed by Verdana. Aelita took her to the elevator, while Yumi contacted the others. They arrived in the computer room. Jeremy, Odd, and Ulrich were already there. "Good. Now we can explain everything." Jeremy told Verdana. Odd thought it was strange how she acted when she stepped into the room. She did not look around in awe as others had, but instead gazed around as if she was familiar with the place. "There is no need to explain everything to me, I know most of it already. X.A.N.A. has taken over the world, activates towers sends monsters and other things to earth, and you are looking for the anti-virus." Everyone stood staring open-mouthed at this comment. "Surprising, I know. But, there are a few things that you don't know about X.A.N.A. For instance you don't know where he came from. There is where I can help you." Verdana said. "Fine, so you know all about Lyoko, but we know nothing of you. Tell us." Jeremy asked. "Alright. If you must know, I came from another world similar to Lyoko, Drongar. X.A.N.A. originated there, along with many other viruses. The maker was so upset that he had created such horrible things that he decided to make an anti-virus to stop them. That would be me. I managed to get all the viruses but one into a tomb that they are frozen in. X.A.N.A. was the one that escaped. He found a way to access the connection from Drongar to Lyoko. I don't know how, but thankfully that was the only one he found. Before I left, I closed all access ports to other worlds, in case the other viruses escaped. I materialized in Puerto Rico's El Yunque national forest, away from prying eyes. I lived with the natives when I wasn't at my dance studio. That is why my hair is purple. I finished taking all the lessons I possibly could while I did research on X.A.N.A.'s whereabouts. Some how the government found out I was living with the natives and they came to pick me up. Once they had me, they transferred me over to the British Government. They found me a school, Kadic, and sent me there, afraid that I was a delinquent in training. I can understand that, seeing as I carry knives in my boots. I think that that covers everything, doesn't it?" Everyone had been paying rapt attention to her tale. Suddenly Jeremy's phone had begun beeping and flashing the X.A.N.A. symbol. "Everyone to the scanners. Yumi, I want you to stay here in case anything comes to attack us. Verdana, you can take the open scanner." Jeremy issued out orders. Ulrich, Aelita and Odd went first as they awaited with great expectation as to how Verdana would look.

In Lyoko

Verdana dropped down and landed on her feet. She looked the same except her dancing dress had turned deep purple and she was wearing pants with soft leather boots, same color. She had a bow slung to her back and a quiver full of arrows hanging off her side. " The tower is just ahead, watch out for the blocks, crabs and hornets guarding it." Verdana stopped the others, "Let me handle this." She jumped forward and nocked an arrow in her bow. Then she went into rapid fire mode, firing one arrow after another. Once she was out of arrows, she used her bow to block several shots aimed at her. Without a break in her movement, she reached down, pulled out two daggers from her boots and threw them into the blocks. Then from nowhere, ninja stars appeared in her hand (her dress was sleeveless). She threw these destroying the remaining hornets, the ones not destroyed by her arrows. Verdana back-flipped to the place the others were hiding. "I'm going to try something, but while I have them distracted, you need to take Aelita to the tower." Verdana told them before dashing off again. Once she had the attention of the crabs, she took a deep breath and began her dance routine. It was amazing, no of the shots taken at her hit. Ulrich and Odd led Aelita to the tower, where they were forced to stop because one of the crabs turned its attention from Verdana and to the small group. However, deciding that there was nothing there, turned back to Verdana. As they huddled behind the rock, the crabs stopped firing and froze. "What's going on Jeremy?" Aelita asked. "I have no idea. Wait there is something appearing in front of the tower! I don't believe it, it's X.A.N.A.!" came the voice. They turned in awe to gape at the figure before them. It was a floating globe of black light, or rather it was a globe devoid of color and light. "Ah, Indevrigo, we meet again. Only this time it is I who holds the power!" X.A.N.A. exclaimed. Verdana looked him in the eye, well his symbol that was pulsing gently in the middle of the globe. "So you recognized me. Big deal. I've got weapons you could only dream about, not to mention some gifts I received once I left Drongar. You can't hurt me, however much you try." She retorted. " Maybe so, but I can hurt those you are close to." X.A.N.A. laughed. He sent a signal to the crabs who turned and opened fire on Odd, Ulrich, and Aelita. Odd jumped up in a brave attempt to defend the others. He took one hit and fell in front of the crabs, at their mercy. "Indevrigo, you can't stop me from destroying this world and making it very painful to devirtualize for your friend here. You must make a choice, me or your friend." Verdana bit her lip and decided what she would do. Her hands glowed purple and black. She threw the balls of energy at all of the crabs but one. The remaining one she leapt in front of and placed her purple-glowing hand on it. Then her other hand glowed green as she transferred health from the crab to Odd. "Aelita, run to the tower!" Jeremy seemed to have recovered from the shock of what had happened. Aelita took one last glance at Verdana and Odd. Then she raced to the tower. "Tower deactivated." she sighed. "Return to the past, now." Jeremy said. The school and surrounding areas were enveloped in a bubble of white light.

At Kadic

"Jeremy, what did X.A.N.A. actually do, anyway?" Verdana asked. "Apparently, there was an earth quake that split the ground into a gaping hole. I have a question for you. Why did X.A.N.A. call you Indevrigo?" Jeremy responded. Verdana paled slightly at the question. "That is a little harder to explain, unfortunately. I've had many names, seeing as I travel so much. That was who I was known as in my original system. When I came out of the virtual worlds, the natives named me Verden, which in their language meant green one. I changed it to Verdana when the government came looking after me." she said. Everyone turned and stared at her. "You mean the government is after you?" Yumi asked. "'Fraid so. They seem to be afraid that I'll turn into a delinquent, as I told you before." Brrriiinnnggg! The bell rang and they all trouped off to class. In the shadows, waited a boy their age. "So we meet again, Indevrigo." He whispered to himself.

I need someone to beta me. Please let me know if you are interested.


	3. Jordan Feeny

After school

"See you Monday, Yumi!" Ulrich told her as she left. It was going to be a long weekend. Yumi was going with her parents on a weekend trip to visit her aunt. Aelita and Jeremy spent all day and night down in the factory working on something. Odd was trying to find his homework that he was supposed to turn in today, to avoid a detention. Verdana…well, he had no idea where she would be, or what she was doing. Ulrich was lost in these thoughts as a boy walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. The boy was blonde with pale skin and pale blue eyes. Ulrich started when he felt the hand on his shoulder. "Excuse me, I'm Jordan Feeny. I'm new here, and I was wondering if you could show me around." Jordan said. Ulrich asked him what his room number was. "I'll take you to your room so you don't have to carry that bag all over the place with you, then we'll go on a tour of the grounds." Jordan nodded and told Ulrich his room number. Once they arrived, Jordan threw his bag on the bed, and something fell out. Hastily, he swept it back in, but not before Ulrich had seen what was on it. It was X.A.N.A.'s symbol. "I've just remembered, I have some homework left to do, I'll show you around after dinner." Ulrich said as an excuse. He ran to his room and told Odd everything he had found out. "I found my paper and turned it in. We should probably do some reconnaissance on him." Odd said. At dinner, Ulrich and Odd saw Jordan talking with Sissy. "Do you want to be part of my group? I saw you hanging out with my Ulrich darling." she was telling him. "Sissy seems to be playing it up a bit. Maybe you should talk to her and put it straight." Odd said loudly. Sissy heard and glared at Odd. "Hey Jordan, are we still on for after dinner?" Ulrich asked. "Yeah, um…where shall we meet?" "I'll see you by the gates, after you are done eating." Ulrich replied.

At the gates

"Okay Jordan, spill. Do you know who's symbol that is?" Odd said in his best shot at an interrogator's voice. "Fine. It's X.A.N.A.'s. Here's the thing, I'm not supposed to exist. I was a glitch in the system that created Indevrigo. I am her opposite and her equal. I'm both good and bad at the same time. It depends on where I am. I was taken over by X.A.N.A. a long time ago. He wants me to do most of his work on earth for him. Sometimes he has a strong hold on me and sometimes he has no hold on me. Indevrigo is my only hope for getting rid of him. He also wants her for-" Suddenly he froze, his mouth open. His fingers twitched involuntarily. "Ggggoooo!" he exclaimed, sounding like a C.D. that was skipping. They ran off without looking back.

Back in the dormitory

"That was close! If he hadn't been able to warn us, I'm sure we would have be hurt or killed." Odd was saying. Ulrich wasn't paying attention, he was worried about the others. "What about Jeremy and Aelita, They're still out there and if Jordan is being controlled by X.A.N.A., then he knows where the factory is!" Ulrich said. "We had better look in their rooms first." Odd said for once keeping a cool head at a time like this. They cautiously opened the door to Jeremy's room. They gave a sigh when they saw that Jeremy and Aelita were both looking at something on the laptop. "Is that an e-mail from who I think it is?" Odd said. "Yep, it's an e-mail from X.A.N.A." Jeremy told Ulrich and Odd. "I think we should go tell Verdana, seeing as it concerns her the most." Aelita said. "How'd you guys find out about Jordan trying to attack all of us?" Ulrich asked the question that had be bugging him for a ling time. "Verdana saw you all outside from her room. She sent me and Aelita an text that told us to get out of the factory right away. We trusted her and left. When we came back there was this e-mail from X.A.N.A. Then you showed up." Jeremy told them. They left the room. None of them saw the dark figure enter the room.

In Verdana's room

Verdana sat at her desk surrounded with books. She had her laptop out and was taking notes on something. Hmmmm. That might do something. It's so simple that he'll never think about it. she thought. "u-huh…move this here…do this…type the code…and done!" she mumbled under her breath. She saved the file and closed it. Then she opened a game and started to play. This was how the others found her when they went to see her. As they were telling her about the email, she was wondering about something. What is X.A.N.A. up to? Why me?

Still need someone to beta me!


	4. false alarm?

Thanks for the reviewLadyKyra13! Hope ypu enjoy the next chapter!

Still looking for a beta!

MEMO: --blah blah-- means they are thinking, my other symbol didn't show up.

Monday

"We had a few problems over the weekend if you know what I mean. However, Verdana solved them for us seeing as many of us were gone." Ulrich was updating Yumi on what had happened while she was gone. The whole gang was standing over by one of the trees. As if out of nowhere, came Jordan. He glanced around to make sure that no one was following him. --Thank the Lord! Sissy stopped following me and pressuring me to join her sad little group. I just need to warn these guys about what X.A.N.A. is planning. Calm down, just- YOU WILL OBEY ME. I COMMAND YOU TO CARRY OUT THE PLAN. No I won't. YES YOU WILL. You can kiss my ass!-- #$&()+-/ (These polite marks cover up a rather nasty instance in which Jordan causes some major damage to his head) "Jordan what do you think you are doing!" Sissy exclaimed coming from around the corner. She didn't notice him wince slightly at the way that she said his name. "I have been looking everywhere for you! Now come on, I have something special for you." She grabbed his arm and led him off. Meanwhile, the Lyoko gang watched the scene. Well, they missed the part about Jordan causing major head damage to himself, but they heard Sissy. "_I've been looking everywhere for you! _That was great! You should have recorded it and played back as blackmail. Say that she said that to someone nasty." Odd did a perfect rendition of Sissy. "That was perfect, until the end. You kinda spoiled the effect by your rather far-fetched ideas." Aelita laughed. The bell rang and they all proceeded to class.

In the classroom

Verdana noticed that Jordan had a large black and purple bruise on his head and it looked as though he had tried to rip his brain from his head. "Um…" she began, but thought better of it when she saw the look he gave her. She gave him one of her movie star smiles and turned away, feeling sick. The rest of the class was so boring, that she longed for the simplicity of B.A.Z.T.U.K., another virus with whom she was familiar with.  
--If only to have him back. I never thought that I'd think this, but I kinda miss how easy it was to trick him. I used to think that was dull, but now, it would seem like a super adventure compared to this class. I didn't think that anything could be more boring than going up against him-- she thought as the teacher droned on. As she gazed around, she noticed that she wasn't the only one to feel the boredom. In fact, there only seemed to be two or three people actually pretending to look interested. Obliviously, the techer continued on his lecture. She glanced down at her phone, to check the time. Jeremy had rigged the phones up so that they all knew when X.A.N.A. was up to something. --Hmmmm… still 45 minutes till class gets out. I wonder how the others are getting along.-- She was about to put her phone away, when she saw the X.A.N.A. symbol flashing on it. She glanced up at the teacher, and deciding he wouldn't notice if she left, turned to her phone again. She started, the symbol had vanished. Verdana stared uneasily around the room, half expecting some mega tanks or roachsters to pop out and start firing at her. Since she sat in the back, she doubted if the teacher would notice that she had fallen asleep. She sighed, propped her head up on her hands, and fell asleep.

Later, on the school grounds

Verdana gave a huge yawn and said, "So how was you alls day. Productive I hope." Everyone turned to her with mouths agape. They hadn't heard her come up behind them. "I wish she wouldn't do that." Odd muttered under his breath. She gave him a withering look. "You know I can't help it" she said with a laugh. Odd had such a surprised look on his face that Verdana couldn't resist taking a picture of him. She whipped out a digital camera from somewhere and snapped a shot. "Delete it!" Odd shouted when she showed him. She laughed and ran away, with Odd cursing and chasing after her. A few minutes later, Verdana showed up again. They saw Odd further off trying to catch his breath. Jeremy and Aelita noticed that she didn't even look winded. "Hey Jeremy, did the X.A.N.A. symbol show up today about fourth period?" she asked. "Why?" "Well it came on my phone and seconds later disappeared." She told them. Odd walked up and put one hand on the nearby tree for support. "So, what'd I miss?" "You missed an important update. Verdana told us that the X.A.N.A. symbol appeared on her phone about fourth period, but none of ours did that." Yumi filled him in. "Well, my phone vibrated once, then stopped." Odd told the others. "I want everyone to be on the lookout tonight, just in case." Ulrich said. They started to disperse. "Yumi, wait up! I'm going over to your house tonight, remember" Verdana called. "Oh yeah! Sorry, I forgot with all the excitement. Let's go get your stuff and head on home." They walked away to the dormitories.

At Yumi's house

After a delicious dinner in which Verdana had acted perfectly, the two of them disappeared into Yumi's room. "Thank you for letting me stay here tonight. I get kinda get lonely up a Kadic." Verdana told Yumi. They talked for a couple hours, until Yumi's dad came and told them to be quiet. They settled down to sleep, when their phones began to buzz and flash. There was an X.A.N.A. attack going on. His monsters patrolled the streets in packs of about twenty each. There was every kind of monster imaginable prowling through the city. Verdana leapt up and was out the door before Yumi could ask where she was going. Yumi put her shoes on and chased after. She went out the door and the first thing she noticed was that Verdana was nowhere in sight. Crabs came pouring down the street, so she ducked for cover behind and upturned car. She heard a strange buzzing noise from somewhere in front of the crabs. She tried to see through the smoke, but all she could make out was shapes. The buzz became louder. It sounded familiar, but Yumi couldn't quite place it. Out of the gloom came a head light, closely followed by a motorcycle. The motorcycle ramped off a car and landed right in front of Yumi. The rider was wearing a helmet with a metallic coating over it, and carried a gun. The rider removed the helmet, revealing that she was Verdana. "Come on! We need to get to the factory." Verdana told her. Yumi jumped on the bike and they turned to go. A crab blocked the path. Verdana took aim and fired at it. "A 500 S&W Magnum. The best gun there is. Armor and steel piercing." Verdana filled her in. She revved the engine and they sped off.


	5. What the Hell?

**BETA!BETA!BETA!**

At the factory

"Where are they? You don't think they were killed do you?" Ulrich paced around the chamber. Jeremy heard something. It was like a buzzing noise, but Ulrich was making to much noise for them to pinpoint it. Odd, who was standing nearby, stopped tapping his fingers of the computer. Aelita glanced at Jeremy before heading off in the direction of the scanners. "Ulrich, stop going on circles and listen." Odd told him. Ulrich stopped and cocked his head. The buzzing noise was louder now and they still could not figure out where it was coming from. Ulrich's face lit up. He whispered under his breath, "I know what that is. It's a-" and right on cue a motorcycle sped into the room. The two riders leapt off and removed their helmets. The boys let out a breath they didn't even know they were holding. It was only Verdana and Yumi. They glanced nervously at the pistol Verdana had in her hand. "Don't worry, its out of bullets. Oh, and the creatures won't be bothering you while we are in Lyoko. I took care of them." She followed Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd to the scanners.

In Lyoko

"This is as close as I can get you to the tower. Here come your rides." Jeremy's voice echoed. Sure enough, their vehicles arrived seconds later. "Verdana, I'm not sure what your ride is, seeing as you are the one who programmed it." Jeremy said again. It was strange looking, a deep purple triangle floating a bit above the ground. She jumped on without hesitation as the others stared at it. She tapped her foot on the side opposite to the point and a sail popped up. "It's a modification on a wind surfer. The triangle adds another weapon." she filled them in. "Let's go!" Aelita said. "Maldito Sea! I thought his whole army was back there chasing us, but I was wrong. Looks like everyone else turned out to see us fail." Verdana had never been too awfully optimistic, but know she was being entirely pessimistic and it was rubbing onto the others. They went off on their many vehicles, Aelita was riding with Yumi on the overwing. "Well guys, it looks like there is only one thing to do, go kick some major X.A.N.A. ass!" Odd said trying to raise the mood. It worked and they went off at high speed to end this crazy thing. They started fighting, but every time they almost hit the creature, it teleported away. At first they thought they were just illusions, but they were losing life points when they were hit. "Que Demonios! (what the hell!)" Verdana exclaimed, having only barely missing a mega tank. It seemed that when she was angry she used Spanish, the first language she learned. "Que demonios pasa aqui! (what the hell is happening?)" she exclaimed. All the monsters disappeared. The gang looked around uneasily. "I don't think this is going to be good." Odd remarked looking around. Their rides had long been devirtualized. He settled himself in firing position as the others did the same. Ulrich held out his swords, Yumi whipped out her fans, Verdana held her bow at the ready. They formed a circle around Aelita. They looked in the direction of the tower, not knowing what to expect. From the other direction, came the globe devoid of color and light, X.A.N.A. He came within a few meters of them and suddenly began to glow red. A hand emerged from the globe.


	6. More surprises

In Lyoko

The hand was followed by an arm, then a shoulder. The globe of red light yielded a foot and a leg, still with no clue as to who it was. The other arm and leg soon followed. The feet swung crazily until they found solid ground. Once they were planted firmly, the arms flailed wildly looking for something to grab hold of. The edge of the globe appeared to have solidified slightly, allowing the hands to grab hold and pull the head from within. Ulrich gave a little gasp, it was Jordan! Only it wasn't fully Jordan. He looked the same, same blond hair and stature. He was dressed in black, so his skin looked colorless. The black shirt was skin-tight; the black pants were tight, ending with black boots. The black cape he wore was adorned with gold buckles. When he opened his eyes, they saw only black. The whites around the eye weren't there. "AT LAST! I HAVE A BODY OF MY OWN. NOW I WILL TAKE AELITA AND INDEVRIGO. ONCE I HAVE THEM IN MY GRASP, NONE WILL STAND AGAINST ME!" He exclaimed. Verdana laughed, surprising everyone. "Dude, cut it out with the CAPITAL LETTERS. It really messes up what you're trying to say, not to mention it ruins the effect." X.A.N.A./Jordan looked up at her with such anger, that if he could have, he would have melted her into a puddle. "AND YOU STOP CORRECTING ME! THAT MAKES ME LOSE MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT." He retorted. Verdana rolled her eyes. " Do you understand what I am saying, or do I have to say it in another language? Tipo, corte él hacia fuera con las MAYÚSCULAS. (Spanish) 花花公子, 裁減它以大寫字母。(Chinese) Dude, besnoeiing het uit met de HOOFDLETTERS. (Dutch) Type, coupe il dehors avec les MAJUSCULES. (French) Geck, Schnitt es heraus mit den GROSSBUCHSTABEN.

(German) Dude, περικοπή αυτό έξω με τα ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΑ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ. (Greek) Tizio, taglio esso fuori con le LETTERE MAIUSCOLE. (Italian) 男、切口それ大文字と。(Japanese) 멋쟁이, 커트 그것 밖으로 대문자에. (Korean) Gajo, corte ele para fora com as LETRAS IMPORTANTAS. (Portuguese) Dude, отрезок оно вне с ПРОПИСНОЙ БУКВЫ. (Russian)" With each language, the look of anger on X.A.N.A./Jordan's face grew. "STOP MAKING FUN OF ME, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!" he replied. The others looked on with amazment. They had no idea that she could speak so many different languages. "Get to the tower, I'll hold him off." She whispered as loud as she dared. She needn't have bothered, X.A.N.A./Jordan was too wrapped up in himself to have noticed what she said, even if she used a bullhorn and shouted into it. The rest of them began edging ever so slightly toward the tower. "Here's the deal. I've got to take you back to where you came from. You obviously aren't going to make it easy for me. I don't intend to harm myself in the battle. This is a problem because your creatures have just disappeared and I know that you will cheat if we fight being to being." She said bluntly, just laying down the obvious facts. -- Please oh please fall for it!-- she thought furiously. It had worked before, about a lifetime ago. She almost let herself fall into the memory. -- He was standing there, stunned look on his face…No! I won't think about that. That was then, this is now.-- she jerked herself out of the memory with startling suddenness. "…that is of no consequence. The point you have made was well noted. It seems I was right in taking precautions…" There he went, rambling on and monologing. She hated to listen to this, but it was the only way for them to unknowingly let her in on their plans. She stopped herself again from falling into the memory, the memory of her greatest triumph…and her greatest failure. She had been so close, only to have fallen so far. Clearing her head of any thoughts that would distract her, she forced herself to listen intently to what he was saying. It was only through years of practice on Drongar, that she managed to stay awake. "…have no worry, my minions are well hidden far from here. They will come when they are called, but not unless I wish them to. The only thing that can stop me is you and Aelita. And I fully intend to destroy that threat. I need Aelita for the obvious, but you…you are something else. I do not understand why you do the things that you do. How is it possible that you cannot hate, nor do you wish to fight when there are innocent bystanders around?" She had deduced all the information that she needed, and had zoned out, deliberating with herself about if the plan would actually work. She jumped slightly when she realized he had addressed the last statement to her. "Well you know what they say, 'Hate only hurts the hater, not the hated.' I prefer to hurt you in any way I can, not harm myself by just hating you. As to the second, I would rather not harm anyone that is not involved. Puts me in mind of an African proverb I once heard. 'When elephants fight it is the grass that suffers.' That may not be exactly what that meant, but that's what it means to me." He took up his monologue once more. "You humanoids are so strange to me. You share the fighting, yet you are extremely stingy when it comes to giving your life for the sake of others. I know, what would a virus know about that? Aren't all of them stingy, self-centered maniacs? I believe that I…" His eyes grew wide. Verdana looked closely, but still no whites. "I don't believe it! You got me monologing again. This will be the last time! Now I will squash you beneath my fist!" Verdana appraised the scene with a jaundiced eye. It would have been a good place to fight, but not when he had things under his control; ones that would come at the merest thought. "…NOW IT IS YOU THAT WILL LOSE!" Apparently, when he was excited or under stress he reverted to his capital letter speak. "On the contrary, it is you who loses X.A.N.A." Both of them jumped. Verdana leaned around X.A.N.A./Jordan. It was Aelita speaking. She smiled smugly at him and entered the tower. He whipped around and stared at Verdana with hate filled eyes. Well, it wasn't the eyes themselves; it was more the expression he had upon his face. She gave the appearance of shrinking before his gaze, although her mind was working furiously to analyze the situation and find a way out. "THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU CATCH ME IN ONE OF YOUR TRAPS, INDEVRIGO!" he roared at her. He advanced menacingly. Meanwhile, Aelita was rising up to the second level. She put her hand on the screen, but instead of giving her name, it said ERROR. She thought as quickly as she could, trying to figure out what to do. On the outside, things were going just as well; Verdana was in big trouble. -- Why hasn't the tower deactivated yet?-- she thought desperately. She had put her life on this gamble, and so far it wasn't working in her favor. Her new friends were taking care of the monsters, who seemed to have lost the ability to transport after X.A.N.A. brought them here. X.A.N.A./Jordan had unsheathed his sword and had made several clumsy thrusts at her, which she had dodged with ease. -- Is he really that much out of practice? I remember he was an excellent swordsman.-- Things were looking dire, she was out of arrows, out of the assortment of sharp things she had, and an energy ball was too risky. She took a quick glance around her as she dodged another horrible swing. In a flash she understood. He was driving her to the edge, the void of doom!


	7. Flashback

In Lyoko

Aelita was in the tower trying to shut it down. The rest of them were busy fighting the other creatures. Verdana and X.A.N.A./Jordan were locked in a life or death struggle. This time there was no escape. Aelita subconsciously chewed on her bottom lip as she debated what to do. All at once, she laughed. It was so simple. She wiped her hand and replaced it. Verdana, however, was getting no bright ideas. She was nearing the edge with every step and she knew that she would get no reprieve from this encounter. "Tower deactivated" Aelita said with relief. "Return to the past, now!" Jeremy replied. Verdana was slipping off the edge, when the tower was deactivated and they returned to the past.

At Kadic

"Thanks guys, I thought I was a goner. I was almost dead." Verdana was thanking her friends for the stunning rescue they had pulled off. She gave an involuntary shudder as she thought about how close she had been to the void. But while it answered many of her questions, it opened up so many more. For instance, what was X.A.N.A.'s big plan. She hadn't gotten that out of him although that was what she tried to do. As she laughed with her friends over the course of several uneventful days, part of her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking about the first time she laid eyes on another world, and the destruction wrought everywhere within her sight. -- I really let myself go. I hope that doesn't happen again. I made a vow never to lose control again, and I meant it.-- she thought as the memory consumed her.

Flash back

I was in the first stages of my search. I remember clearly the moment I stepped out of the portal. It was pouring and there was fire everywhere. I saw people screaming as the destructive force over took their world. I could sympathize with them, but I could do nothing to help them at the moment. I was only searching for my virus. One part of me said that I should leave and continue my search, but the other said that I should help the poor people. I was literally ripped in half. All at once there were two of me. The copy was the restraints of my programming, but she had no soul and was dead. Me, I was free to do as I pleased. I tried to help the people, but all I did was to destroy their world even more. I sought out the destructive force with every intent to destroy it. When I found it, I was amazed. It was the antivirus they had used to protect their world from viruses. It was ironic that their protector became their destroyer. They had expected a threat from without, but the true threat came from within. I stood staring for quite a while. It was a weak antivirus, much less of a protector than me, but I could not bring myself to destroy it. When it noticed me, it tried to destroy me. I remember the look on its face, it didn't want to, but it was forced to. I raised my hands in defense, but instead fired an energy ball at it. I watched it shrivel up and something cracked inside me. I raised my hands once more, this time in desperation of the horrible act I had done. An energy ball flew once more from it. In my anguish I had created a sort of energy wave that surrounded, but did not harm, me. It flew outward, destroying the very people I had tried to protect. I went back to the portal, careful not to use my hands for anything. Being stripped of my programming gave me new and very strong powers. I did not like the feeling they gave me though. I tried to pull my other half back into me, but I couldn't. We had separated and there was no hope of fitting back together. I cried to myself, there was no one left to hear my sobs. I had become what the other antivirus had been, a program with no rules that couldn't help itself. I decided to find X.A.N.A. and take out my anger on him. After all, he was the reason I had come here. But, now that I think back on it, it might have been the system I had been in. There might have been something else there that destroys anti-viruses. I'll never know, though. The moment I went through the portal again, I could never go back.

End Flashback

The memory was with her always and at times threatened to consume her. Her friends noticed that her laughter became empty and she was wasting away. There wasn't much they could do for her, except leave her in peace. Day after day, she worked single-mindedly on her laptop. Nobody knew what she was writing, but they understood that it was important. She walked from class to class in a daze. Nights with no sleep had taken their toll. She became a walking dead person. In a desperate attempt to cheer her up, the gang recommended that they make a fun visit to Lyoko. She looked surprised, but agreed to meet them there.

In the factory

"Sorry I'm late, got held up by Jim." Verdana said as she walked in. She was looking better now and was returning to her old self. They decided that Verdana, Yumi, and Aelita would go. There was no sign of X.A.N.A. or Jordan.

In Lyoko

The three of them were running an obstacle course created by Aelita. When they reached the end, they were wiped out. They sat resting. "Does Jeremy have any idea about X.A.N.A.'s plan?" asked Verdana. Aelita and Yumi shook their heads. "I had an idea while we were running. Why don't we bring Jordan into the gang with us." There was a shocked silence. "Haven't you ever heard that one saying: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? By doing that, Jordan can tell us what he knows about the plan. And if he gets possessed by X.A.N.A., we can subdue him." "That's a great idea" Aelita said, "but we'll have to clear it with the rest of the team." With that, they set of back across the obstacle course.

Back in the real world

"…and we had a great idea. If we bring Jordan into the group, it will be easier to monitor him." The boys stared at each other. Ulrich began slowly, "Well, I could probably get him to meet us here." "And I could get Sissy away from him long enough for you to get away!" Odd shouted getting into the spirit. They all looked expectantly at Jeremy, as he would have the final say. "I don't know. I think…"


	8. Another member

"…that's a good idea, but we'll have to make some modifications on the factory. Hide everything we don't want X.A.N.A. to see. He'll have access to Jordan's memory, so be careful what you say and do." Jeremy finished. The others nodded in agreement, that was exactly what needed to be done. Verdana and Yumi offered to clean up in the factory, while Jeremy and Aelita set about programming a virtual self for Jordan, one that would look better than the X.A.N.A. version. Ulrich and Odd went about they tasks they said they would.

At Kadic

"Sissy, your hair is totally messed up!" Odd called from behind a tree. Sissy turned, glanced around, and pulled out a pocket mirror. She gave a little scream and raced off to her room, closely followed by her cronies. Odd gave a little laugh, all this was courtesy of him. Jordan had remained where he was, and Ulrich walked over. Jordan nodded and they left.

Back at the factory

"I wonder what is taking them so long. We've cleaned the whole place and they still haven't come back. What did they do, stop for ice cream?" Yumi asked the others. "I agree. It definitely does not take this long to get here. I wonder if they were caught by Jim or something like that?" Verdana added. "They may have run into trouble at the school, I'll check for activated towers." Jeremy said trying to allay their fears. "I'll help, I need something to do." Aelita said. The two of them wandered over to the computer. Verdana shrugged. "I don't think that there will be an activated tower, but it could be something else. Like, maybe Sissy saw them and followed. It's possible you know. Anything can happen-dumb people can get smarter. Besides, I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation, there's no reason to assume a tower is activated." she said, trying to break the awkward silence. It seems that there was no reason to worry because at that moment, the others walked in. "Sorry, we're late. Sissy got a little worried when Jordan didn't follow her. We tried everything we could to shake her, but it didn't do anything. She followed us up until we went to the park. Then she got bored and left." Ulrich explained. The four that had been there looked over to Verdana who gave a small shrug. "Honestly, the way Sissy hangs onto you is amazing. I mean, she went totally crazy when she couldn't find you." Odd laughed as he told Jordan. Jordan smiled and said, "That is so true. I wish she would leave me alone sometimes, but she hangs on me every second. I don't want to stay with her, but X.A.N.A. thinks she is a good source of information. He makes me stay and smile. I have to admit, this is so strange. I thought you didn't trust me?" He posed the question to the whole group. "We figured you could help us and X.A.N.A would have less control over you. If you helped us, we could find a way to set you free. Also, if we know X.A.N.A.'s plan, we can stop it and prevent whatever it is. This way, you're free of Sissy, too." Verdana replied smoothly. "Do you want to go visit Lyoko without being possessed by X.A.N.A.?" Aelita asked in a sweet voice. Jordan looked so like a little kid when his eyes lit up. "Really, do you mean it?" He asked excitedly. "Do you want to see your virtual form?" Yumi asked. He nodded and followed her over to the computer. "I hate how I look when X.A.N.A. takes me over. It's like something from ancient times. He has no sense of taste at all." Verdana laughed, "X.A.N.A. is color blind. He loves the color red, but to him it looks like black. As for his fashion sense, I have no idea where he got that idea from. He really isn't that old. In your years, he's about 10." All of the gang turned and looked at her. "I'm only about 8 in your years, so it really isn't that big of a deal. Jordan, you ready?" Jordan nodded and followed her to the scanners.

In Lyoko

"This is so awesome! I can finally see Lyoko with my own eyes. And I can see what I want to without having to look where he wanted me to." Jordan looked like a little kid on Christmas morning. His face had a smile too big for it and he was jumping up and down. "Look at me, free as can be!" he shouted as he jumped around her. Verdana watched him with a small smile on her face. "Do you want to be free forever?" she whispered to herself. "Of course you do, who wouldn't?" she answered her own question in the same low voice. As she watched him, it was hard to hold back the tears. The lump in her throat would not go away, even as she gave him an encouraging smile and turned away. Verdana gave a small sigh and turned back to him. Jordan was still bouncing around, but he wasn't going as high as before. It was obvious that he was getting tired, so she suggested that they find a place to try out his new weapons. "I have weapons! Totally awesome! The only thing I had before was a sword, and that wasn't even mine." They set off for the forest sector. On the way, Verdana explained what each of his new weapons did. "…and this one fires bits of flame when you want it to. This staff is much more than it seems. It is actually an indestructible metalloid that will slice through anything it touches. Here's your sling shot that can fire an energy ball."

She set up a few targets for each type of weapon. The easiest to make were the staff ones, so she started with those. While he was busy slicing them into ten pieces with one move, like she showed him how, she was busy with the slingshot targets. Once she finished those, she began on the disk ones. And finally, she made the rod targets. The rod was a short, tapered stick that fired flames and other things out the pointy end. Jordan had finally finished the disk targets, and approached the rod ones. He pulled out the rod and looked at it uncertainly. "What does this do again?" Jordan asked. Verdana smiled and took it from him. "You aim with the pointy end facing outward. Then you push this button and it fires flame or other projectiles. I can't show you because it only works with your genetic code. That means that X.A.N.A., in possession of you, can't use it either." She handed him back the rod. He aimed for the first target. He pushed the button and the flame went over it. Verdana smiled again and showed him the best way to aim. He hit the next target straight on. Verdana stepped off to the side and watched his progress. "Maybe I can help you guys next time there is an attack. That is if I'm not possessed by X.A.N.A." He added noticing the look in her face. "I understand that you don't trust me, but I want to help. I wish there was some way to be free of his control." --I want to tell him, but I don't know if it will work and I don't want to get his hopes up-- Verdana thought as she put a comforting arm around him. "Jeremy, I think its time to go back to the real world." She said in a motherly way.

In the Factory

"Wow! It's late. We've got to get back to Kadic. Yumi already went home and I bet Jim is looking for us." Jeremy said as he looked at his watch. The others nodded in agreement. "One thing puzzles me, why didn't X.A.N.A. take the opportunity to attack us?" Jordan raised an important question that Verdana had the answer to. "He didn't want to injure his body. He wouldn't risk that even if it meant getting me." "Well, why didn't he posses me then?" Jordan was still curious. Verdana sighed and answered him, "He can only posses you in the real world. When he possesses you in Lyoko, he had to have possessed you when you entered the scanner. He didn't do it this time because he still believes that we have information that we might disclose to you." She answered the next question before it had left Jordan's mouth. He thought for a second, but was unable to come up with another question. He sighed and followed the rest of the group back to school.


	9. The Shadow

The next day

The gang had trouble staying awake in their classes the next day. They were tired due to the lateness of the hour they returned and that they received no sleep due to their excitement that had all but faded away by morning. Jordan looked the most peakish; his skin had turned a freakish white. Even Verdana, who was in the best shape of them all, suffered some ill effects. As she sat through her history class, she began to drift off. The teacher droned on and the words seemed to form one long one. "…and in 1645 thewahwahwahwahwahwhah…" Realizing the teacher wasn't facing her direction, she looked over at Jordan with a worried expression on her face. He looked quite ill. Verdana leaned over to whisper encouraging words, but as she did, her nose began to tickle. That meant that there was something here that shouldn't be. Like always, she was very perceptive. An instant later her phone buzzed, the dragon wound around the yin-yang sign on the cover moving like it was alive. Sure enough, the X.A.N.A. symbol was there. All of this took less than a second and she watched as Jordan jumped as his phone buzzed. Using Jordan's sickly pallor to her advantage, she raised her hand. "Excuse me, but Jordan isn't feeling well and I was wondering if I could help him to the nurse's office." Jordan added a sickly groan right on cue. The teacher turned, nodded and resumed his lecture. Verdana helped him out of his seat and out through the door. Once outside they broke into a run, only slowing when a teacher passed them in the hallway, resuming their pose of helping the sickly one. Eventually, having been stopped over twenty times, they made it to the factory. Amazingly, they were the first to arrive. "Mrs. Hertz wouldn't let us out of science class", Odd reported as he and Ulrich arrived. "Where's Jeremy", asked Jordan, who was quite anxious to be in lyoko. "He had to get something from his room, but he should be here by now." They waited in silence until the sound of the elevator let them know of someone's approach. They held their breath but relaxed once they realized it was only Yumi and Aelita. As they waited once again, the minutes ticked by antagonizingly slow. There was still no sign of Jeremy, or X.A.N.A. for that matter. Verdana grew impatient and began to pace around the room. "This is taking too long. Jeremy isn't going to be here anytime soon. Jordan, go down to the scanners, I'm sending all of you into lyoko. It'll be safer and we can finish this thing." Obeying without question, they headed down. "There are only three scanners, so I want Jordan, Yumi and Ulrich to go first. Once they're in, Aelita and Odd, that way those who need protection receive it." They understood that it wasn't meant to be an insult, only the basic facts. "Verdana, are you sure you know how to work this thing?" asked Odd uncertainly as he waited in line. "Of course! Who's the program here, anyway?" "I'm sorry, I always forget. You just are too human." Verdana smiled and turned away as she started up the virtualization process.

In Lyoko

"Hey, you all there?" Verdana asked nervously as she glanced at the screen. "We're all here and in perfect shape. By the way, do you think you could upload some more weapons for us?" Odd had just noticed some crabs and blocks heading their way. "Okay, you all have another additional set of weapons, and those of you with only one type, I added power. Do you want me to try and find Jeremy?" "Of course, the sooner the better." Aelita responded. Everyone was jittery, but it was worse without their main warrior in Lyoko and their controller at the console. Verdana left the others to take care of the crabs and blocks, as she hacked into the camera system at the school. No sign of anything out of the ordinary, but no sign of Jeremy either. She called his cell phone.

Back at Kadic

Jeremy's phone lay on the bed. The room was empty. Suddenly the phone vibrated, nearly falling off. Out of the shadows, a large black hand came down and obliterated the phone.


	10. Kidnapped!

Sorry Its so short, but it was hard to find a good chapter end later on that wasn't to far away.

--Hmm. That was weird.-- "Guys, I've got bad news. Jeremy isn't answering his phone." The others, having just taken care of the last creature, stood there gaping for a few moments. Then Aelita spoke up. "You don't think he's dead, do you?" "I find that highly unlikely. I know that Jeremy has been a target before, but I think X.A.N.A. has something more sinister in mind this time. He could be using Jeremy as bait, or something of that sort. He needs Jeremy to bring something out of Lyoko." Every one was silent for a second, letting Aelita think. "There is another possibility, you know." Everyone whipped around in surprise. It was Odd speaking and they wanted to know his idea. "There could be a third party in this. Someone who wants to see X.A.N.A. take over, but doesn't want him to stay in power. He could be using X.A.N.A.'s take over for his own purposes. Or her own purposes." This was such a good idea, they were stupefied once again. "Odd, where do you get these brainwaves?" Verdana said in a proud tone. "One of you has got to come out and take over for me. It's quite a way to the tower and I can't upload your vehicles. X.A.N.A. has put a lock on that section, or maybe it was the third faction. I'm going to find Jeremy." Ulrich volunteered to take over, while Yumi, Odd, Jordan and Aelita remained there to deactivate the tower. Once Ulrich was in position, Verdana sprinted off to the school.

At Kadic

Verdana raced down the hallways, careful to avoid unnecessary entanglements with students or teachers. Finally, she arrived slightly out of breath, but otherwise in perfect fighting shape. The room was exactly as Jeremy had left it that morning, with the exception of the crushed cell phone on the bed. Finding this odd, she approached the bed slowly. She fingered the pieces and, in the end, left them there. The laptop was gone off the desk, presumably the reason he had returned to the room. Something moved in the shadows and Verdana picked up the slight movement. Turning quickly around, she thought she could make out a humanoid shape in the darkness. Suddenly, The shadow leapt out at her and quickly subdued her. It injected a sleep inducing drug which made her weak and unable to resist as the shadow tied her hands and feet. She was tossed over its shoulder and before it went dark, she saw another person slung over the other shoulder. It was Jeremy. Then everything went black.

The factory

"There's a new set of signals approaching from the left. Blocks and hornets." Ulrich relayed the information to his friends as soon as it appeared on the screen. The trip to the tower had not been easy, and at every turn, more creatures showed up. The only thing that had saved them so far, was Jordan. His weapons did loads of damage and he took most of the hits without suffering losses. He had even used X.A.N.A.'s possession of him to their advantage once. When the creatures approached, Jordan pretended that he was possessed by X.A.N.A. and they escaped without a life point lost. Ulrich was beginning to feel a bit nervous. X.A.N.A. was wearing them thin and he had no idea what to do if someone got devirtualized. He didn't know if he had to press a key or type a code. –I'd better call Verdana and see if she can enlighten me.-- Without a word he dialed her number. "The phone you are calling is out of service range at the moment. Please try again later." A female voice said in that annoying way of hers. "For 75 cents we'll keep trying and notify you when we are connected." He hung up. This did not bode well. In fact, it seemed to illustrate the end of their lives, the end of all they worked for. As much as he didn't want to tell the others, he knew he must. --But—he reflected,--there's no need for them to know yet. It might influence their fighting morale.—


	11. Mysterious Happenings

Sorry it's so short, but here it is!

Lady Kyra 13- Thank you for all the support. More of her past coming soon!

When Verdana awoke, the first thing she noticed was her splitting headache. As she opened her eyes, the world slid into focus. She shot back as she noticed a man standing over her. "This one has a sort of immunity to the drug. It should have taken her about three more hours to wake up. See, the other one is still asleep." Verdana knew she was not immune to the drug, only that she recovered faster than any normal human. There was another person standing in the corner that Verdana had not noticed before. The being spoke. It was a strange language, but it was somehow familiar to her. She struggled to remember through the pain. It was so familiar, yet she could not place it. She frowned inwardly; the fact she did not know was so annoying. The man moved away and the being in the corner disappeared. Verdana propped herself up against the nearby wall. She began running through everyone she had met, trying to place the mysterious dialect.

In the factory/Lyoko

"Are you telling me that two of our three most important people are missing!" Odd freaked out as Ulrich informed them. Aelita stood a little ways off, deep in thought. "It couldn't be X.A.N.A. I would know if it was. I believe it was someone else." "Sure, but what can we do about it? If we stay here, X.A.N.A. will keep wearing us down. If we leave, X.A.N.A. will attack us there." Aelita and Yumi rolled their eyes. "Odd, aren't you forgetting something. Aelita can still deactivate the tower. All hope is not lost." "I think that these others want us to come after Verdana and Jeremy. They may even think that they have Aelita. If they don't, they may attack Aelita here, when they realize the rest of us have gone back to the real world. The main thing is to avoid either place." Jordan had been so quiet the others had forgotten he was there. "You may be right." Ulrich said as he checked the screen. "I'll try and call again. She might be in service range again."

Back somewhere in the region of China (I may be a few countries off, but ya know they're somewhere around there.)

Jeremy slowly felt himself coming to. He struggled to hold onto the long awaited dreamless sleep, but he became even more conscious. He became aware of the bright light and then a curious buzzing sound. The smell of mold and sewage hit him like a blow as he opened his eyes. Verdana was leaning against a nearby wall, struggling to free her hands. The buzzing sound continued in sporadic bursts, quite annoying as he had a gigantic headache. All at once, he realized what the sound was. It was a cell phone. The reason for Verdana's struggling became apparent as well. He squirmed over to the wall and leaned against it. The phone kept on ringing and someone was coming down the hall. The someone was wearing heavy boots and was heavy set. The door slowly creaked open.

Back at the factory/Lyoko

"Have you taken care of those hornets yet?" Ulrich asked impatiently. "There are about five more blocks headed your way too, I might mention. Oh ya, I just got cut off from Verdana's phone." Yumi, just having destroyed the last hornet and landed, was on the verge of going crazy. "God dammit! Why can't we just deactivate the dang tower. I mean, it might save Jeremy!" Odd wasn't helping matters either. He was standing off to the side letting Yumi do all the work. "Hold on a second. The blocks just disappeared!" Ulrich exclaimed after looking at the screen. "It has begun." Jordan said in an ominous voice.


	12. Still More Mysterious Happenings

Someplace in or around China

"Well, look who's awake!" The heavyset man in military clothes nodded toward Jeremy. A being stepped out of the shadows of the door way and turned to the man. It spoke in that same odd dialect. The man frowned and walked over to the lab table nearby. From there, he pulled out a syringe. "Well, my little birdies, I have need of your blood. It will help us achieve our goals, which, I might mention are not in the interest of protecting you." He gave a sadistic laugh and closed in on Jeremy and Verdana.

The factory/Lyoko

"Ulrich, what's going on?" Yumi asked trying to keep her voice controlled. "I have no idea!" Ulrich replied freaking out. He wasn't the computer freak or the computer program, so how should he know what was happening. Odd, meanwhile was scanning the area for the tower he knew should be there. Jordan hopped nervously from foot to foot, while Aelita glanced around looking for any enemies. "Hold on, there's a new group of signals. I've never seen anything like them. They don't even have a name yet, all that's there is a question mark." Ulrich nearly fell out of the chair as he looked at them. "That doesn't bode well, now does it." Yumi added sarcastically. Over three hours of fighting had taken their toll and she knew she had to be getting home soon. Odd scrambled up onto a rock and called back to the others. "I see them! Ulrich is right; I've never seen anything like them. Whoa!" One of the mysterious creatures shot at him, nearly taking off his head and causing him to fall. "You guys had better find cover and now. I'm not quite positive what those projectiles do, but I think they explode!" Ulrich told them as five more projectiles landed in their immediate area. The gang had been standing around the first one curiously, but on Ulrich's insistence, they scattered to various places. Each of them found a hiding spot and sure enough, the projectiles exploded. Out of the explosion, the newly dubbed mini howlers (that's the name I'm giving them, if anyone has a better one I'd like to hear it) came overrunning everything. The group was only safe because they were in the lee of their rocks. These things were crazy and there were always more of them. "If we get caught under them, what'll happen?" asked Odd uncertainly. "Well as far as I can tell, you'll be broken down into a million tiny pieces, digested by every single one of them, and never return. I imagine it would be quite painful." Odd turned away from the others disgusted and very sorry he asked. "Serves you right Odd for asking Ulrich" Yumi said finally having something to get back at Odd with. "Ya know, if we're going to get out of here, we need to get to a tower, preferably a non-activated tower." Jordan was right. In order to save themselves they needed to get somewhere safe. "The flow of mini howlers has stopped, this is a perfect time to escape." Aelita pointed out. They leapt out and sprinted toward the nearest deactivated tower. A new wave of mini howlers followed close behind. Aelita reached the tower, followed by Jordan and Yumi. Right before Yumi entered, she saw Odd trip and fall. She knew in a sickening instant that he wouldn't make it. Then she was inside the tower.

Back somewhere in or around China

Verdana and Jeremy were feeling very dizzy, having had at least a gallon of their blood drawn. "Finally we will succeed my lord. Finally we will have-" The being in the shadows cut him off with a sweep of his hand. Then it spoke and the man replied, "Yes, you're absolutely correct. No need for them to know about our plan. They will know soon enough." The being was driving her crazy. It sounded so familiar, yet it was impossible for her to place. It felt as though she knew it from another life. The being spoke again and the man bustled out of the room. The being stepped out of the shadows. "Surprised to see me, little sister?"


	13. Memories

Lyoko/factory

Odd tripped and fell. The mini howlers were gaining rapidly. They were almost upon him when he reached up and grabbed a branch. He swing up high into the tree, not once wondering why there was a tree in the desert region. The mini howlers rumbled along below. –What are those things?—Odd asked himself for the fiftieth time as he waited for the herd to pass.

In the tower

"Jordan, you said something about 'it has begun', right?" Jordan nodded. "Well then, what does it mean?" Yumi asked again. "I'm not very sure. Its like a memory that's not mine. It just sorta came out." Aelita puzzled over this for a second. "I think you have access to X.A.N.A.'s memories. If you want, I think I could get the whole memory to show on a screen, that way all of us could watch." Jordan nodded and they proceeded to the top floor.

Verdana's flash back

_I remember when I first laid eyes on the world I was supposed to protect. Chaos and destruction rained down upon what was left of once mighty trees and rolling plains. The mountains were silhouettes in the fiery sunlight. Just having been called into full existence, this world was horrible and definitely not the place I wanted to be. It scared me and I looked for comfort. I knew that I wasn't the first anti-virus to work this system. I had known my older brother for about a year before he became an anti-virus and left the half-existence we had lived in. I've never told any one why he left, nor why the betrayal hurt so much. We were both programs first created to inhabit the world, but the viruses came and our creation was delayed. Then the creator conscripted a few programs for change. My family of sorts. We were modified to fight viruses. Everyone before me had disappeared, except my brother. He turned into a virus of sorts himself. This was the most painful memory of all. I found out it was him, who was inciting the viruses and causing most of the destruction. He left when he saw me, presumably to some other world or system. I never saw him again._

End Flash back

In or around China

"I see you haven't changed a bit sis." "I see you have become even more viral and you're shorter than I recall." Verdana sent back an angry retort. "Do you still follow the way the creator made you follow?" "No, I choose to help others. I'm not selfish and evil like you. How could you do that me?" "Evil is a strong word, I prefer to think of myself as unorthodox. Anyway, evil is a point of view. The people that serve me think I'm good and you're evil." The irony of this caught Verdana off guard. "There you go again, getting surprised at the simple facts of life. Anyway, I bet you'd like to know what I need your blood for, wouldn't you?" Verdana bit her lip and refused to answer. "I know you would, but I won't tell you because I want it to be a surprise." He laughed and walked out of the room. "Who was that?" Jeremy asked having not understood. "My brother", Verdana said in a dejected voice, "Manuel. At least that was his real name; I haven't the foggiest idea what he's called now." Jeremy nodded as if he understood, noticing Verdana's reluctance to talk about it. In fact it only made it all the more confusing to Jeremy. - - Her brother? But that doesn't make any sense. Why is he hurting us?- - Verdana closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. She gave a long lingering sigh and fought to keep back the tears. Remembering she could heal herself, she began to glow green. Then she reached over and healed Jeremy.

In Lyoko

"There, its all set up. Now lets see that memory." Aelita said lightly, trying to help improve the mood. Jordan nodded and sat down in front of the screen. He wrinkled his brow remembering and concentrating. "Should it be taking this long?" asked Yumi. "Don't rush me. Ever try to get someone else's memory?" Jordan replied sarcastically and returned to concentrating. An image appeared flickering on the screen. The image stabilized itself and Jordan's eyes flew open. They were totally white. He began to narrate.

X.A.N.A.'s memory

_The Shadow walked up with an odd look on his face. "Here's the thing", he said putting his arm over my shoulder, "I'm trying to make a war that will destroy all the other viruses and anti-viruses. If you help me, I'll let you live." I nodded, war was one of my specialities. I asked him what I would receive as payment. He laughed, a bitter, hollow sound full of cruelty. "Your life. You have twenty four hours to give me your answer. After that, I'll assume that you're against me and I'll kill you personally." That liar! I found out later that he would kill all of us any way. I also found out he destroyed the rest of his family. I vowed to myself right then, to give him war; give him hell_. _I wouldn't go down without a fight. But then, he vanished, without putting his plan into action. Later that day I would find out why. It was the only one with the power to destroy him, his little sister. Indevrigo. The one family member he failed to kill. She came out and imprisoned us. I barely managed to escape to this new system, named Lyoko, without her tracking me. I've been waiting for the moment his creatures will show up and destroy me. I still hold to that vow I made years ago. I'll give him hell before I die._

End memory

"Well, that's been educational. I wonder if Verdana knows?" Aelita was the first to recover. Yumi was sitting there stunned and Jordan was blinking and shaking his head. "I never knew." Yumi said softly. "Ulrich, I hope you saw that memory." Jordan said. "I don't think I could do that again." Ulrich's voice came. "Yeah, I saw it. That was horrible. It sounds familiar, but I can't quite place where it came from." "How long do you think we'll have to wait?" Aelita asked. "Based on what I see...forever. Those things will overrun the whole of Lyoko in about another ten minutes, give or take a few."

Outside the tower

- -Hmm. Those things just keep coming. I wonder what's up with that.- - Noticing that there was another break in the waves, Odd jumped out of the tree and began to race toward the tower. He ran and was suddenly pulled back by the tree. The branches caught him and pulled him back. "What the hell!" Odd exclaimed. Then he realized that it wasn't where it was supposed to be. He was in the desert region and trees were supposed to be in the forest region. - -Uh oh- - was his very last thought before everything went black.


	14. This changes things

Sorry that its so short, I haven't got that much time.

In or Around China

- - The only way to release Jordan from X.A.N.A.'s control is to close of his mind. This could be dangerous as his brain might explode or he could go into a vegetative state. But if he's who I think he is, then he'll be fine. If not...best not to think of that.- - Verdana was passing the time going over solutions to various problems she had been trying to fix. - -So I tried plan A (get X.A.N.A. to talk his plan out to me), but that didn't work. There's got to be another way. What if I– - - "Oww!" She had slid down the wall and landed on a sharp piece of metal. It was small, but it would hopefully cut through the bindings. It looked suspiciously like a piece if shrapnel. As Verdana puzzled over the meaning of this, the heavy set man re-entered the room. "Ahhh. My little birdies all tied up still. I can't wait to test out my invention that uses your blood." He cackled nastily. "But, alas, I can't until his Lordship returns from taking over some backwater world. So, I'll leave you here, all trussed up and ready to be cooked and eaten!" Jeremy noticed that this man kept using analogies to food and it was making him hungry. He hadn't eaten for two days. The only way to drink was to catch the water that fell from a pipe above them. The man finally left the room again after collecting various beakers and test tubes from around the lab. Verdana whispered to Jeremy. "I'm going to try and cut through my ropes with a piece of shrapnel. See if you can find another piece and work on yours." Jeremy nodded as she began to move her hands back and forth across the piece of metal furiously. He managed to drag himself over to another part of the lab. His hands, numb from being out of use for so long, did not feel the sharp bits of metal cutting into his hands at first. Only when the hands came down on a piece of considerable size did he realize he had found what he was looking for. Maneuvering the piece into his hands, rather awkwardly as they were still tied, headed back to his spot on the wall.

In Lyoko

Odd's next thought came as a surprise. - - Where am I? Why is everything black? Oh wait, my eyes are closed.- - He opened his eyes slowly. Odd was surrounded by X.A.N.A.'s creatures. He noticed the tree thing that had caught him standing in the corner next to several others of its kind. Odd sat up and the nearest creatures scattered. "Where am I?" Odd voiced the question aloud. He was answered by a mysterious voice. "You are in my lair of course." Then it laughed. Odd struggled to remember where he had heard that voice before. It was X.A.N.A... only not. "X.A.N.A.?" "So the little pest has caught on. I would kill you, but as it is, I need your help."

In the tower

"Soo, what are we going to do now?" Ulrich asked, a slight bit peaved that no one was listening to him. "I think we should find Odd." Aelita suggested. "I already told you, Odd's non-existent any more!" Yumi answered almost in tears. "Yumi, Odd is still alive. I'm reading his vitals, but he doesn't appear on any of the regions." Ulrich said in an attempt to comfort her. "I think X.A.N.A.has got him in his seceret hideout." Jordan replied. "I can get us there if you want. Its somewhere in between the towers. You know, you can transport to other towers. His hideout is somewhere in the middle. Once you hit a certain point, you have to say a word and you're in." "Then what are we waiting for!" and they jumped.

In or around China

"I'm free!" Verdana exclaimed as the last bit of rope frayed apart. "Do you need help?" Jeremy nodded, having bit of difficulty cutting the rope. "Oh, look at your hands! Better let me heal them for you." Verdana grabbed his hands and healed them. "Now, let me do that." She picked up the bit of metal and sawed away. After a few minutes, the rope was cut and they were both free. "Lets get out of here!" Jeremy rasped. They jumped up and shot out the door.

In Lyoko

"So this is his hideout. Very cozy, although I wouldn't want to spend my entire life here." "Yumi, this is no time to be rude. In case you hadn't noticed, we are surrounded by every one of X.A.N.A.'s creatures." "Ah, I would like to thank you all for coming." They all jumped. It was X.A.N.A. They noticed his voice was somewhat richer and less cruel sounding. "Hi guys!" "Odd!" they all shouted in unison. "Now that I have your attention, I would like to discuss something with you."

In or around China

"Well, let's find out where we are. If I know my brother, it's a long way away from France. If we can find a secure location, I can make a portal that will take us to the factory." "Good idea, but lets split up. It'll be harder to catch us and if one gets caught, the other can escape." Verdana nodded and took off toward the left, Jeremy continued straight. "Hold on, how will we reach each other?" Jeremy voiced the one thing that had bugging him. "Here, take this disk. It'll communicate with mine using Morse code. We better hurry, we don't want that man to come back and find us gone." With that, she whirled around the corner once more. Suddenly very nervous, Jeremy decided to follow Verdana. -- This seems too easy. I think it's a trap!-- As he came around the corner, Verdana was nowhere in sight. He had forgotten how fast she ran. Sighing, he sprinted down the hall. Verdana meanwhile was entering a computer room. Picking up a data pad, she began to enter information. Finishing, she slipped in her pocket. - -All my plans will go to waste if can't get him to a room without a reinforced roof.- - The plans she had been making on her computer one night, not too long ago, were to destroy her brother. She had known that she had to, but it killed her inside to do it. "I see you've managed to escape, little sister. This changes things. I shall destroy you personally."


	15. Strange aliances

In Lyoko

"Well, this is awkward." Aelita said quite surprised. "What do you need help with anyway?" "As you already know, Indevrigo's older brother wants to take over the world. His creatures have overrun everything. So, I need your help to repel them and save Lyoko. This goes against my nature, I know, but we can only save the world united. What do you say?" The gang huddled in a group to discuss the options. "I think we should help, after all, we want our world back." Jordan pointed out that they don't have be friends forever. They could always turn back to enemies after the crisis had abated. The others were okay with this and gave X.A.N.A. their answer. "Do we have any idea how to stop them?" Ulrich asked from outside the world. "The way The Shadow works makes his creatures hard to defeat. They will have some sort of disarming mechanism I believe. The only problem is that it will be connected to the nearly indestructible big whatchamacallit" "Oh, great. That makes our job real easy." Odd said sarcastically. "We might be able to disarm the creatures from inside, if we can get there. I noticed an access point near their maker symbol. Using that, we might be able to defeat them." Aelita added thoughtfully. "This could work. We just need a good strategy." Jordan replied joyfully.

In or around China

Verdana dodged another bullet from her brother's gun. Only her dance lessons had saved her this time. Her ability to change direction in midair was of the greatest importance. She knew she was beginning to tire and could not keep this up forever. - -Damn. Why can't she just stand still. This is proving harder than I originally thought- -Manuel thought furiously. "So what are you called now, Manuel." Verdana taunted him in an attempt to lure him out into the hallway. "I am known as The Shadow, for your information. It's a much better name." He aimed and Verdana knew she would not be able to avoid this shot. He squeezed the trigger and nothing happened. Verdana let out a sigh and sprinted into the hallway. Manuel followed cursing vehemently. Where he had learned all of that, she had know idea. He caught up with her before the first turn. She was standing there, arms out stretched. He looked up and noticed the roof begin to crumble. He turned to run, but a piece of shrapnel hit his hamstrings and lodged there, preventing movement. He gazed up at the roof with eyes wide open.

Back on Lyoko

"Go hornet, go. There they are! Let's take them out!" Odd called in a loud voice over the roar of the wind. The gang, now including X.A.N.A., dived toward the large howlers. They hopped off and landed on them. Each of the gang began to hunt for the access panel they knew was there. As if recognizing what was happening, the howlers began to emit a high-pitched whistle. Jordan glanced up and saw a wave of mini howlers heading for them. "Uh, guys, I think we have less time than we thought."


	16. The Endof this adventure at least

Jeremy rounded the last corner in time to see Verdana bring the roof down on her and her brother. "Nooooo!" He called out, but it was too late. He saw Verdana smiling at him as the roof fell around her. Then she went out of view. After the dust settled, he ran over to the rubble. Manuel's hand lay out of the rocks, but it was lifeless. After a few minutes, he found her. Only her torso, one arm and head were above the rock strewn floor. He rushed over and whispered to himself, "Please be alive, please." Jeremy touched her face and she groaned. "Jeremy? I can still open a portal. Take this will you." She struggled for a minute and brought the data pad out of her pocket. "It's a way to free Jordan. Here's my camera for Odd, and my weapons to be put somewhere safe. Give Aelita this vial filled with healing power that will work in either world. Tell Yumi and Ulrich something for me, will you? Tell them good luck and to love each other good." Verdana raised her arm, pointed it at the wall and opened a portal to the factory. Jeremy was about to step in when she called out. "One more favor please. Will you take care of X.A.N.A. for me. He needs to be destroyed." Jeremy nodded and stepped into the portal. Verdana lay there, waiting for death. Her favorite song popped into her head and she began to mumble the words.

_I walked across _

_an empty land_

_I knew the pathway_

_like the back of my hand_

_I felt the earth_

_beneath my feet_

_sat by the river _

_and it made me complete_

_Oh, simple thing_

_where have you gone_

_I'm getting older and I _

_need something to rely on._

_So tell me when you're gonna _

_let me in_

_I'm getting tired, _

_and I need somewhere to begin_

_I came across _

_a fallen tree_

_I felt the branches_

_of it looking at me_

_Is this the place _

_we used to love_

_Is this the place_

_that I've been dreaming of_

_Oh, simple thing_

_where have you gone_

_I'm getting older and I _

_need something to rely on._

_So tell me when you're gonna _

_let me in_

_I'm getting tired, _

_and I need somewhere to begin..._

In Lyoko

Realizing the futility of their situation, the gang waited for the pain. They were surprised when the mini howlers just flowed over them...dead. They all leapt for joy and hugged each other, except for X.A.N.A.

In the factory

Ulrich heard all the celebration. He jumped out of the seat and did a little dance. As he did one final turn, he noticed Jeremy come out of the wall. "So, wha'd I miss?"

After everyone was put back into their normal forms, They gathered around the computer. "Return to the past now!"

In the past

The gang stood by the gate, not talking. They stared out at the gate, expecting the black limo to come and at the same time, knowing that it wouldn't. In fact, they were the only ones with any proof that Verdana ever existed. Theyhad given her a proper burial. Jordan had taken her place, standing there at the gate. The bell for class rung and they trudged off. A few minutes later, a long black limo pulled up. A pretty native girl stepped out and smiled, reminiscent of Verdana. She gave a twirl of her skirts and ran into the buildingNo men in black stepped outbut it seemed to be the same. The limo left and a tinkling laugh filled the empty courtyard. Then the restless spirit left to her homeland.


End file.
